我對香港的印象 – impression of Hong Kong

Little bit over a week ago I wrote that we’re going to Hong Kong and since yesterday I’m back in America. Wow, just wow. It all happened way too fast. I didn’t want to leave, I promised myself next time I’m taking Biscuit with me and in the worst case we will spend out life at the airport like Tom Hanks in The Terminal. There’s no way I can handle saying ‘Goodbye’ to Hong Kong again.

Before this trip, the last time I’ve been to Hong Kong was more than two years ago now. I often wondered are the memories I have today, are they real? Is the smell I can feel looking at the Victoria Harbour picture really like that? Or maybe I’m slowly forgetting everything and just try to fill up the blank page?

I was both, worried and excited. Worried that I really might start forgetting places, smells, the feelings I had, but also excited that in the worst case I could refresh my memory.

In 2012, when I first arrived I took my luggage to the bus terminal and the heat mixed with high humidity stroke me down. Very specific smell was in the air. I got my Octopus from my soon-husband-to-be and sit at the upper part of E33. I looked through the windows seeing tall buildings, I couldn’t move my head away. Instead of looking at Sing my eyes were trying to see everything. On our walk from bus station to his family house I was still looking everywhere but at him. That night even though I was tired I couldn’t sleep, I was sitting in a tiny bedroom with open windows and looked at the mountain and the neon sign of McDonald’s. Then for next few months I was experiencing a whole new life. Crowded, busy, differential. I tried to keep every single day, place, food and experience in mind, but after 2 years people tend to forget.

Now in 2014 I was thrilled to hear that I can actually go back to Hong Kong, even if it’s only for a little bit longer than a week. While I was packing my bags I tried to recall the streets I passed, the things I could smell, the feeling of humid air on my skin. After all the Octopus and SIM card problems we headed the same way to the bus terminal and the same heat stroke me again. I took a deep breath, the air was exactly how I remember it. While walking to the bus A11 I looked at my right hand side to the same station I took two years ago. I remembered everything like I was there the day before. We waited for the bus and I grabbed Sing’s arm, I tried not to cry, but to be honest with you I had tears in my eyes. Tears of joy that I could be there once again and that no matter how much times passes I still know the city by heart.

During my first trip I felt a bit lost in the city jungle, I always followed Sing, the only time I went alone was to the TMT Plaza and I came back right away. This time I was left alone for a whole day and for three times that someone asked me if I’m lost, I was lost only once – I just couldn’t find the right entrance to the building, so I consider that as my success. Thank you, handsome stranger, for showing me the way. Hong Kong didn’t seem to be so big this time, it felt much more local to me, I feel like I know where I’m going, where should I get off. I knew the smell of harbour even before I reached the ferry terminal. Even the smell of stinky tofu wasn’t so annoying, not like back then. I took my time to sit down and gather new memories, just enjoy those moments and the warm wind.

I never thought I could get attached to a place, I wanted to call myself ‘a world’s citizen’, but I guess I cannot be a polygamist – Hong Kong stole my heart back in 2012 and it’s just like a crush you sometimes wished to get rid off but it will always have a special place in your heart. Even my own hometown never gave me so much of a mind comfort as Hong Kong, when I walk through the streets I feel like I was born to live there. Just like Sing and I met after fortune’s third shot, that is how I want to be with Hong Kong – next time I’m there, I wish to stay. Even Sing started reconsidering moving back and Momzilla approved it (guess the grandchild argument works in every case – ‘You will be closer to your grandchildren, we work and you play with him!), which was really pleasant surprise for the end of the trip, so I guess wish us luck?

By the way, be prepared for at least 8 more posts somehow connected to our trip, including one more guest post by my husband and how 2 years of not being home made him feel like a tourist, not a local, born and raised. Little bit of traveling advice, little bit of the reviews, little bit of feelings.

you mean the occupy thing? or just luggages driven through my toes? 😉 I support pro-democratic movement, especially knowing the Polish history, but I can also appreciate old Chinese values, culture etc., it’s just CPC I don’t like 😉

let’s hope for a better future for it 🙂 the things that went down in those few years is the air quality, but maybe it was just that time of the year, last time we visited during summer time, now it was November/December and we had only one day of a blue sky, the rest were grey-ish 😦

I’m not sure i have fallen in love with Shanghai. I come from Latvia, Poland is rather close to us 😉 After high-school i went to Denmark to study and then i ended up in China, Shanghai. I’m here for 1 year and… 4 months. The one thing i keep thinking about is that, when i go back home, or just back to EU, everything may and most likely will feel small… I like living here, i have friends, there’s always some place to go and see if not in SH then outside of it. I don’t think i’ll stay here for my entire life, but still thinking of going back to EU makes me think i’m going back to a fancy village 😀 Life here seems… alive? exciting…

I would say EU is my second favorite, I’m totally not suitable for American lifestyle, especially in a small town and without any driving skill set 😦
I admire you that you can survive in Shanghai – it was too chaotic for me, not to mention the local dialect… always reminds me of momzilla haha but with the power coming from raw fried buns I think maybe I could manage haha delicious and cheap!
I sometimes laugh because Sing and his mom call his dad’s workplace a sh.thole (he works for a HK company but has to stay in factory in China to keep an eye on workers, he stays there 24/7 :/) but my hometown has less people than that place, not to mention it’s ike 5th biggest city in Poland haha 🙂
but Shanghai definitely feels alive 🙂

I fell in love with Barcelona and now have the the very lucky opportunity to live there/here, again. How you describe Hong Kong is how I feel about Barcelona when I knew I was moving back and the first few weeks being back. Damn city stole my heart!

I miss HK.. Even though I don’t know Cantonese, I had a fun trip with friends and by myself. I’ll never forget the food experience, walking around the peak in 45min with the humidity, and the super bumpy minibus rides…. 😉

take a bus to the peak next time, we planned to take a walk but I would die on the way 😀
the minibus drivers are crazy, I think there should be a seat belt or something. or maybe there is but just like stop button it isn’t used haha 🙂

I went up to the peak by bus, car, and went down by tram. It was pretty neat. But yeah, walking around the peak in humidity was something. I just wanted to finish walking the trail and immediately get into a mall with AC!

There are seatbelts on some of the minibuses, but nobody uses them! You’ve gotta hold onto the rails or the handles for your dear life!

I like the tram but during summer time standing outside for 40 minutes just to get inside is killing me haha 🙂

so the seatbelt is the red stop button 😀 it is there but nobody is using it 😀 I used Sing on my right hand side, my purse to block me in front, and my leg to stop me from falling to the left hand side – just in order to read one article in a newspaper haha 🙂

I am so glad to hear that you had an amazing time in HK and I look forward to more posts about the place. And I can relate to ‘Even the smell of stinky tofu wasn’t so annoying. – Even though I still refuse to eat it, the smell doesn’t make me cringe anymore.

we almost didn’t get married because of it (it made us argue over some stuff even more than usually haha) but this time it was quite pleasant, too bad line was too long and we were busy on our schedule 😦 but that’s another reason to complain that I want to go back haha 🙂

Hong Kong is my “second home” and Singapore my “third home!” We are like you, we would love to move to HK, it is just getting that opportunity of employment for my HK Husband so we can take the leap! Why must these things take sooooo long?!!! 😉 Good things come to those who wait as they say! Or at least I will keep telling my self that… haha…

I can be patient to Sing or his mom but when it goes to missing Hong Kong I’m like ‘I want it NOW’ haha but I’m relieved Momzilla approved the coming back idea, she first wanted Sing to stay in the US, but now she’s with us. made some connections this trip so hopefully it will profit for us in future. I keep my fingers crossed for you too 🙂

BJ has some really awful, awful air. But hey, I live in Delhi, which is equally bad.
There is more history in BJ. When I lived in China they told me that for 100 years of Chinese history you go to SH, for 1,000 years of Chinese history you go to BJ, and for 5,000 years of Chinese history you go to Xi’An

I know! Sing just got into a subway to China haha luckily for me the visit was Momzilla-free for me 🙂

I wish to go there next summer but we will see – still need to know if Sing will be sent to Ireland or China or they will ask him to stay in the company in the US. I hope he will go to China for half a year so then I can just go to HK more often 🙂

Yay! I’m thrilled your visit was so blissful. 🙂 I understand what you mean. First, Japan is my other home. Second, time away does that. It dulls memories and makes me whistful for what is so far away. Your post is funny timing. Hubby and I have been talking about homesickness for Japan, five years in Canada and accomplishments, memories of Japan and losing the connection, and wondering where we belong. I’m looking forward to your upcoming posts and Sing’s post and wishing you two the best!

I never had the feeling that I would love or is a city I visited or lived in but then again I haven’t been to HK yet. For Beijing well, I barely remember it except that it was too hot and we couldn’t get any taxis and about Xi’an where I spent most of the time it is just also not that interesting. Xi’an surely has a lot to offer but it all feels too forced all the construction happening, nothing is well maintained the pollution makes you sometimes wonder if memories of a blue sky were just from some movies…
It is great that you enjoyed your trip and that we will be able to read more about it. Besides momzilla probably has only one thing on her mind , ‘you better plan for family, blond grandchild needed’ :p

I’m glad you had a great trip! I definitely look forward to seeing the rest of your adventures there. 😀

Hmm, as for falling in love with a cityーthere are definitely quite a few I feel connected with, adore and even love, but that strong, really head-over-heels/I feel at home feeling has only happened in 2 cities: Barcelona and Osaka. ^^ Stockholm is a close third, but it’s hard to say since it has “always” been there for me. ^^

After growing up on the cool, moist, lush western side of Oregon State, USA, I went to college in Walla Walla, Washington State. The temperate desert climate was quite a change! My sinuses cleared up, and I didn’t get rainy shoulders or socks anymore.

Autumn was much warmer and drier; the leaves on the trees were actually colorful and crisp! The autumn night my boyfriend and I walked in a park and the wind swept through the trees, with the stars and moon shining brightly above, I fell in love with this place.

We married and raised two sons here, and I’ve never regretted it! Though the summers are hot, they are dry. Winter storms are relatively dry, so we get little to moderate amounts of snow; but it’s usually light and fluffy with less icy roads. Springs are also gorgeous with flowering trees and lots of bright green grasses and wheat fields.

Downtown Walla Walla is vibrant, with lots of shops, wineries, historical architecture and sculptures. A farmers’ & crafters’ market runs on summer weekends, with annual county fairs, hot air balloon festivals, road and cyclocross bicycling races, a haunted corn maze, winery tours, museum at the historical fort, lots of live theatre and music, and so much more.

I was in Bali in 2008 and I fell in love immediately! Unfortunately, the jobs available for me there were not as good or pay as well as the ones I got here.
I am still looking for opportunities to go back there and stay for longer than a year. 😀

It’s great to hear that you enjoyed yourself in HK the second time round, and that you don’t mind the humidity too much! I really loved living in Singapore when I was younger and I actually liked the humidity. Sure, the humidity is something that you will notice at first once you arrive but after a while it sort of sticks to you and you have to get used to it 😀

at least I feel warm haha but with a cold wind it’s much cooler than in a dry place 🙂
everyone loves Singapore but I didn’t have enough time to fall in love 😦 because of the storm in HK our flight was delayed and we had less than 2 days (1.5 night) to enjoy it 😦 need to come back!

My second home is Osaka. I love that place and feel right at home at it having lived there for years. When we moved to the SF Bay Area after Osaka I kept yearning to go back to Osaka. I was homesick. When we left America last year to go to the UK, I was not homesick to SF at all. So it is really only Osaka that has stolen my heart. We finally went back for a visit this year, to vist my husband’s family, our friends and my favorite place on Earth! It was such a great trip. It felt like an emotional recharge. Can’t wait to go again next year.

Totally agree with you, everything about
Hong Kong makes one fall in love with the city once more … why not? It has its charms like every global yuppie city-
quirks, warts , the good and beauty of
them all ! Thank you for always
updating us , did I say I adore your
blogs 😊

I’m living in Nanning until July 2015, and I really hope I can squeeze in a trip to Hong Kong while I’m here. I do plan to do so! I hope I’ll love it as much as you. As for places where I felt truly at home, I’d have to say Istanbul and Cappadocia, Turkey, and like many above, Barcelona. Also Sintra, Portugal and Crete, Greece, especially Rethymnon. 🙂

Home is where a part of you wants to be, feels it should or ought to be. I might’ve felt that way once about Hong Kong, but the pull is much stronger elsewhere. And I think that speaking German for 3 weeks has helped a lot in that regard, too. I’m very glad you enjoyed your trip to Hong Kong!

I love this and cannot wait to read your other posts and Sing’s guest post! I miss the smells there and the thing that really stirred my memories was when I was on the flight to HK this year and two years ago and drank the water on the plane. It was HK water, something I hadn’t tasted in years!

You have a very romantic and nostalgic view of HK 🙂 I wish I could say the same but there’s a lot of crap I have to deal with here everyday that prevent me from completely falling in love with HK, where I’ve been living for almost 4 years now. Well there’s always the wonderful and then the bad… Trying not to be too jaded 😁 I think I might just stay here for a couple years more😜

So glad you had such a nice trip back to Hong Kong. There are certain places that get into our hearts and become a part of us — it sounds like HK has become that way for you. I’m excited you’re considering a move there! Keep us all posted! 🙂

It’s great you have a place you like so much! And maybe you’ll even be able to call it home in the future.

I didn’t like Kunming that much when I first moved there in 2009 for a year of studying abroad. But I fell in love with it some time later. I always look forward to going back (I was able to visit twice after having left).

I liked Shenzhen a lot at first (it’s really beautiful with all the green and flowers), but in the end it was too big for me (and it was really hard to meet people).

You captured the essence of my thoughts on Hong Kong quite the same. I first discovered HK in 2007 and fell in love with it then. Every time I go back, I just feel so connected to it, the frantic energy, the smells, the overall lifestyle… it’s crazy. And similar deal, when I leave, I’m scared of losing that emotion, the feeling, and not being able to see the beautiful sights and just feel the intensity and energy of HK.

i don’t think i’ve met anyone who’s been to HK would say that they hated it. true, the city is not for everyone, but even for those who may not want to live there permanently, they would still have good things to say about the city. the food is the first thing that would praise about. and i would second that.

Good Post ‘myhongkonghusband’ – I lived in fabulous HK for six months and absolutely loved it – I also was lost one day, in the subway, I just couldn’t find my way out…and a wonderful HK student showed me the way – one of my favourite places was the Chi Lin Nunnery and the Nan Lian gardens – great vegetarian restaurant there as well.